Sassafras Superstone La Cloche Bread Maker and Dome Roasting Baking Dish and Non-Stick Bread Baker with Lame

This item is as described. I used parchment and before the first use i rinsed and brushed it to get rid of residue from manufacturing. I let it dry completely. Before using, I spritzed it with Pan Spray, lightly. It performed beautifully. I did take one extra step, just to be sure. I put it in a cold oven and brought it up to 550 deg. F. I did that a second time.As for use, I did as the manufacturer, and my breadmaking source, Peter Reinhart suggested. I let the boule rise in the cloche and then put it into a hot oven. The crust and crumb were amazing. I don’t know how that works, as it seems that it can be done either way, starting hot and starting cold, with excellent results. Very different!

I've used it twice and it definitely is a step up from the Dutch oven. I really like how my artisan sourdough bread is now turning out. I do not need a chain saw to slice through the bottom crust !!!Initially, the fumes emitted during the preheat were really bad and almost overwhelming. I fully expected that the fire alarms would go off.Update 3/24: I have used the cloche several times and the fumes are no longer a problem. I didn't smell any in my last bake. I would not hesitate purchasing this item again.

I loved this bread baker and asked for a second one for Christmas. But the bases both broke in the oven. I ordered replacement bottoms, (they called them pie bakers) and paid for them thinking I would get many more years of use out of the domes. The replacements both broke the first time in the oven. Before I used them I asked the company if the issues I had with the first bottoms was because of something I was doing when I baked my bread. They told me no, their products were made to be used under the same conditions I was using them. Needless to say, I'm very disappointed and would not recommend anyone depending on these to bake with unless they like throwing good money after bad.

I bought this as I wanted to make homemade sourdough bread on a consistent basis to eat healthier (homemade bread has no added sugars, no preservatives, is way cheaper, and sourdough in particular has a very long fermentation time decreasing gluten and increasing digestibility). I knew I would be making bread weekly, so I wanted to invest in the right vehicle to make super tasty and crispy bread. This is it. I've used the la cloche several times and my bread has come out perfectly every time. It's super easy to clean as well. My la cloche came packaged nicely as well, so no issues with breakage. This is also a very heavy piece, and overall worth the money.

This allows the home baker to make bakery level sourdough without having a steam injecting oven, or dealing with misting the oven throughout the baking process. The quality of my bread has greatly improved since I began using this.I treat this like a oven stone when bread baking. I preheat it in the oven for about an hour (no need to soak beforehand), then take it out, quickly place the boule in and slash it, then replace the cover and cook. Make sure to preheat again between loafs if baking multiple.

I don't write reviews. But.....in this case I feel like I have to. The cloche truly does elevate bread making to another level. I've been baking for 20 years. Everyone loves my bread and fights over the last piece. With the cloche, I can now produce bread that looks and feels like it came from an artisanal bakery. The difference is truly amazing.

Bought for my son and he was excited. Looking guards to trying it!

I bought this as a gift for my sister in law. I already have one and think it is GREAT for baking bread so that is why I got one for her. It works just like it states.